“DARE” Production Diary – Day 4

By CJ on October 22, 2007

Call time for the 2nd day at Four-Aces was 10 am, and I was running a little late, arriving at 10:15. The RV was there, as was the generator and grip trucks.

People were already milling around. The set manager asked me where I’d like to shoot the store room scene, and he showed me two places. I picked the larger of the two, thinking that it wouldn’t be as hot as the smaller room (the temperature was still over 100 degrees), and besides, I really liked it better. CHRIS GREEN came up to me and asked me about dressing the set. I told him there were boxes and cartons of food in the gas station, and he should use those. There should also be a chair in the corner for the models to have sex on.

CORT DONOVAN and NOAH DRIVER were relaxing in the RV, and I introduced myself. After seeing Cort screaming at the top of his lungs where every alternating word he said was either “bitches” or “cunt” during a charity underwear auction back during IML weekend last May, he seemed uncharacteristically subdued. Noah was cute as a button, and this was his first video, only having done internet work.

Okay, a confession: I try to be as detailed as I can when writing these blog postings, and while I won’t lie to you, I have to admit something: I don’t really remember anything specific of what happened the next few hours before we shot, except:

I remember ADAM the producer showing up frenzied with a bowtie that he had bought for Cort’s wardrobe that morning.

I remember LEIF GOBO asking me if I felt all right and if I was drinking liquids and eating something because, he said, I looked like I was about to collapse. I felt fine.

I remember COLBY TAYLOR dropping and showing his butt off to MOCHA, who snapped a picture of it for his infamous “refrigerator of ass”.

I remember looking off into the hills and thinking how beautiful the surrounding area was.

I remember KEN from Specialty publications introducing himself to me and taking posed pictures of LOU CASS for his article.

I remember Colby munching on celery from a plastic container and Adam saying it was the third one they’d gone through that day.

I remember a big bowl of the juiciest chilled strawberries I’d ever tasted.

I remember a freezer full of Flavor-Ice pops that were always welcome when Chris brought some on the set.

I remember seeing two hamburgers on plates in the diner set and almost took a bite out of one, thinking it was lunch. Adam told me later, “No! Those were prop burgers!”

Suddenly, it was time to shoot the scene. Cort looked sexy in his diner waiter’s outfit; white shirt and black bow tie. Noah was on a folding chair wearing a white t-shirt and apron, stroking a hard dick. Cort looks at him longingly, then swallows it down.

While we were shooting, two things were happening: 1. James and MATT were lighting the diner for the b-roll, and 2. the sun was going down. Lou had graciously offered to stay an additional day so we could have another shot at getting that car scene where his character meets his just desserts. If we didn’t get it before the sun went down, we were shit out of luck. Plus, we still had the diner scene and the campfire scene to get.

Leif noticed that I was getting more anxious, looking repeated at my cell phone to check the time. It was getting later and later, and I could see the light outside becoming a deeper amber by the minute. I had an idea: I could take BRAXTON BOND, RILEY BURKE, Lou and Colby with the B-camera and go outside and shoot the scene and let Leif stay and finish the sex scene without me. There was only one fuck position left, and I knew he could handle it, but I didn’t think he’d approve of the idea. My mind raced as I tried to think of another plan.

Suddenly, Leif said, “I know you’re concerned about shooting the outdoor scene, so why don’t you and Colby take the actors and go do it now, and I’ll finish the scene in here by myself?”

“That’s a great idea!” I exclaimed, because, well, it WAS, and ran outside for my actors. We set up the same shot we had failed to get the day before, but the sun was now fairly low in the sky, and Colby was having the same problem that Leif was: his shadow was getting in the shot. Colby did take after take, and his frustration was beginning to show. “I’m going to get this shot for you!” he growled, and suddenly, he had it in the can.

Next, we shot a little stunt with Lou and the guys which results in the death of one of the characters. Bang! We had it.

The diner was ready, so we all moved over and rehearsed the scene. Cort did a great job with his dialogue, and the other guys were as brilliant as ever. The diner was lit very moody, with lots of shadow and patterned lighting because it’s the first time Wood and Drew meet Psycho Sam. You’ve never seen a Falcon film that looks like this one.

We needed fake blood, but Adam couldn’t find any, so ketchup was used, as Sam leaves bloody footprints as he exits the diner. Realizing that we had no time to look for a brush, I had Lou give me his feet, and I dumped ketchup all over my fingers and rubbed it over the soles of his shoes. Then he walked out, leaving dark red prints. Great!

That scene was done. I went outside to talk to Adam about the campfire scene, which had been the source of a major headache for my producer. The problem was this: I wanted a real fire for the campfire, which Braxton, Riley and Lou sit around and talk. But the fire marshall would not allow us to have an open fire, and the owner of the Four-Aces would not let us shoot nudity outdoors. We thought about shooting it at the edge of the location’s parking lot, but the same problem applied. A local, who knew of our problem, volunteered his private property, but after looking at it, Adam was concerned that since it was in the middle of actual desert, there might be a danger of rattlesnakes and scorpions, and having a fire burning in the middle of the darkness might call attention to itself from any local authority driving by or flying over. So what the hell to do? I would not entertain the idea of cutting the scene, it was important to Drew’s story arc. Adam asked me to think about it, and he’d return in a bit, as some new problem had to be dealt with.

This one was a toughie. Where could I shoot a scene with a real fire, where one of the guys could run around naked, where two of the guys could do a simulated fuck, and do it at night with relative privacy? Then, it hit me:

My house.

I live in the San Fernando Valley, and while my backyard isn’t huge, I could do all of the things I needed done without interruption or being seen by nosy neighbors. We’d have to fake some of it, shoot around my brick patio and make sure the background fell off to black so my fence wouldn’t be seen, but…could it be done? The other big problem: my house was an hour and 10 minute drive from the Four-Aces. That was a lot of driving after being on set for a full day.

I flagged Adam down and explained it to him. He was game for it. I asked him what we should do about the cameramen and actors who drove down for it. Should they be put up in another hotel for that night so they wouldn’t have to drive back, exhausted? Adam said it wasn’t in the budget, and they would just have to manage the drive. It was agreed that we would shoot the campfire scene at my house the next night…the last night of production.

It was only 9:30, and I could have driven home instead of staying at the motel, but the room had been reserved for me, and I thought it would be a nice change to stay there with everyone else. I followed Colby and Leif and checked in. It was one of those big-chain motels, simple but clean, and I was in room 122. I unpacked my things, took a shower, then jumped in my car and zipped over to Taco Bell for some gorditas and a GIANT Pepsi, which I took back to my room. As I was eating at the table watching The Twilight Zone on TV, I saw Riley walk by. I waved, he waved. A few minutes later, as I was gulping down the last bite of food, Riley knocked on my door.

“Remember, you are not allowed to have sex with the models or the crew,” Adam’s voice echoed in my head from a phone conversation two weeks previous. Then I snapped out of my brief fantasy and told Riley to come in. He sat on my bed, and we chatted a bit about the shoot so far, and how excited he was about the project, and about his sex scene with Braxton the next day where they would flip-flop. He was a horror fan, too, and we talked a bit about some of our favorite movies. Then he asked me where Adam was, and I said I didn’t know. Why?

“He has that box of dildos,” Riley said, “and I want to get one out of it to practice with.”

“Oh, going to loosen yourself up a little, eh?” I chuckled.

“Well, sort of,” Riley answered. “You see, I’ve never bottomed before.”

I blinked. “What? Never?”

Riley shook his head. “I’m a virgin.”

I sputtered out the quarter-cup of Pepsi I was currently swallowing. “You’ve NEVER been fucked?!”

“No,” he repeated. “I wanted to get the dildo and go over to Braxton’s room. I thought we could practice a little before our scene.”

I blew trace remains of carbonated soda out of my nose into a napkin, then said, “That’s not a good idea. Look, I don’t want you and Braxton to do ANYTHING before your scene tomorrow.”

“Why not?”

“Because if you mess around now, it may affect your performance. It may not come across as fresh or spontaneous. Besides, Falcon policy really frowns on it.”

“Okay,” Riley said. “If you don’t want us to, I won’t.”

“Good. If you want to practice with a dildo, that’s fine. That may actually be a good idea. But do it to yourself, by yourself. And don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I won’t let Braxton pound you mercilessly.”

Riley smiled and excused himself in search of Adam. I picked up my cell phone and called my hubby, CVK, to tell him that we were coming over the next night to shoot. He was fine with it. He’d be in bed, anyway.

After closing the curtains and going over the next day’s shots, I turned off the lights and slid between the sheets. I slept about an hour before being awakened by some bumping and thumping coming from the room above me. I would later find out it was Lou’s. I don’t know what he was doing up there, but I hope he had a good time.

There was still a lot to do, including some shots of the car on the road. With Adam’s ban still in place, how was I going to get what I needed?

I drifted back to sleep with the thumping still going on above me. No answer came before I was unconscious.

To be continued…

JBK