Rockstar, House of Tibet, a round of pool, and a breakdown

Saturday began in downtown Salt Lake. It was raining until we got outside, then it stopped long enough for us to get our scenes. Jason Eggleston, who is directing, is also an actor. We had to do a last minute casting change, and decided Jason would be perfect to play Blayne Copeland, the famous singer who is a friend with Ronnie 86.

I've acted with Jason in a play before, so I knew how good of an actor he was. I think that today was a nice surprise to everyone else that only know him as a writer and director. In the story, Ronnie arranges a meeting between Blayne and Roxi to help her get a record deal. They go on a walk while Ronnie 86 went to the deli to get some German food.

We walked back to the car to go to the House of Tibet restaurant, and saw a Hummer limousine parked next to us. We talked to the driver and he let us film outside the limo and we got some good footage.

The folks at House of Tibet were awesome and let us film inside while they were closed after lunch. They were very accommodating and the food was great. Holly Larson came to play Mya Stansworth, singer and Blayne's girlfriend. She was amazing. If anyone could pull off being a rockstar, it's Holly.

After food, we shot pool.

After pool, Janelle and I did some scenes that I'm very happy about. The scenes were heavy duty and carried a lot of emotional content that is vital to the story. I'm excited with how they went down and I think we'll have a lot of choices to work with in the editing room.

Today, we worked for about 15 hours and it was probably the most satisfying day so far.

Food, fight, minivan, and seduction

Friday began at Dee's restaurant with a meal. Once Alex Bala, playing Cool Guy, we began filming him with Roxi. The scene continued behind a building to a secluded corner of the shopping center. It was well lit, but mostly hidden from the public eye. Mostly.

We went through the choreography where Roxi punches Cool Guy, Cool Guy gets a bloody lip, and Cool Guy punches Roxi. Jason and I made the fake blood earlier that day with a secret formula from the cookie aisle. We rehearsed a number of times, and began filming. Then the cops started showing up.

The thing is, we weren't totally hidden. From a distance, it looked like either a gang fight, a woman in danger, or people getting beat up for Youtube. In any case, concerned citizens called the cops four times and we had four visits, sometimes by mulitple units. All of the law enforcement officers were polite, concerned, and let us on our way when they saw that we were only making a movie. Thank you Salt Lake's finest.

Alex Bala was awesome. His take a Cool Guy was exactly what it needed. Janelle was a champ, falling down with a pink guitar strapped to her again and again.

Mike Donahue, who worked with us on Lucky Juliet, played Doug, the night manager. He rescues Roxi, drives her home, and falls victim to her. There is a scene in a minivan with a hand and a thigh. Good stuff.

Parking garage, a Speedo, and a seedy motel

Thursday began at the parking garage with Roxi selling a ring to her dealer in order to get a fix. Matt Webb is back working with us, playing James, Roxi's dealer. Roxi rolled up on a long board and Greg got on the long board, at one point, to get a nice POV shot. The Escalade was there courtesy of Holly Larson.

The day continued at the Uptown Motel, a place with a lot of character and excited tenants. They were, however, very cooperative when I asked them to keep it down. In the scene, Roxi tracks down James in order to get a fix and some help. Ileana Kovalskaya came to play Natalia, James' Russian girlfriend. It helps that she speaks Russian and was able to do a line in Russian. Very nice.

Before we got started, Matt informed me that he showed up to set without the Speedo. A quick trip to Spark provided us with the required euro trunks. This was officially the only time I have ever bought a man a swimsuit. I hope it remains the last time, as well. Although not really a Speedo, the trunks Matt wore were quite nice. There were some steamy moments on set.

Ronnie 86, Roxi, Radiata, bananas, tacos

Today was a long day of filming, but so satisfying. We got a lot accomplished, including scenes with Ronnie 86 and Roxi and a lot of scenes with Radiata and Roxi interacting and singing. I was really impressed with Trapper, Spencer, J.P., and Crow. These guys were under pressure, without a lot of time to prepare, and they really did some great acting.

I also got to eat tacos while filming today. Awesome. Janelle got to eat 11 bananas and only threw up twice. Great job.

Saltair and the Great Salt Lake

Today, we were out at Saltair along the Great Salt Lake filming Grandpa(Pat Donahue) and Young Roxanne(Sammie Edgington). With the exception of the smell and the dead birds, it was quite nice. Channing Lowe came out with his Steadicam rig to film the scene. Very nice.

We then went further down the road to shoot the scene where Roxi releases Grandpa's ashes. The ashes were made out of food items from Jason's cupboard.

Kicked out of the house and at the club

We started Saturday in the morning and kept going until the wee hours of the morning. Tim Maness came back to play Jimmy and started off the day by getting kicked out of the apartment by Roxi.

We were able to use the lights and get all the shots outside before the rain came. Having Matt Muir on crew really helped out. We were able to get things done much faster with him on board.

Filming continued that night at Club Vegas where the band, Radiata, was playing. We hung out, in character, and listened to the band. Janelle, of course, got a lot of attention. I did, however, get invited to a party because I "looked cool." Radiata was amazing(they sound good live) and it will be great to see Janelle up there singing with them next week. I got home at 3:30am. Long day.

Music studio, Roxi's birthday, a pink guitar

Today, I got to act. Finally. I've thoroughly enjoyed wearing the producer's hat on this project, but I'm an actor, so it really felt good to do what I love.

I got to meet Roxi, talk with her, and give her a birthday gift: a pink Fender guitar. I then drove her home. It took a little bit to get back into my stride, but with good direction by Gregory and Jason, I was able to get there. The dailies looked great and it is just wonderful to act with Janelle again.