FEBRUARY 26 2006
Day 19
St. Clair, MO

Big Battle, day two. We’re still on the left side of the hill, but now we’re doing bunker-assault stuff. This is our first three camera shoot.

This involves timing an actor throwing dummy grenades with the pyrotechnician setting off the explosion.

After the explosion goes off, there will be a certain amount of smoke, but not enough to look good, so we have to add more smoke with some of the pyro guy’s industrial-strength smoke bombs.

We have to time the smoke coming out of the bunker with all of our soldiers rushing  it… too soon, there won’t be enough smoke in the shot, too late, and they’re running into a fog bank. It’s tricky.

Gee, why not use a smoke machine?

Well, we have no power source, for one. And for two, I’m not about to trust one that runs off of batteries. Besides, smoke bombs are cheap.

We set off the first one, and it looks great. Unfortunately, there is also a grip in the shot. Do over.

We set off the second one, and it’s even better than the first.

The soldiers rush the hill!

Blank gunshot sounds fill the air!

The bunker catches on fire!

The production designer (PD) starts running and waving his arms!

PD : CUT! CUT!

ME: KEEP ROLLING! KEEP ROLLING!

PD: THE FUCKING BUNKER’S ON FIRE!

ME : YEAH, BUT IT LOOKS GREAT!

PD : WE STILL NEED IT!

ME : CUT! CUT!


So we beat and stamp out the fire, somebody uses a fire extinguisher, and we save the bunker.

Moving right along, we do some close-up trench fighting stuff. It looks a little thin without smoke in the air, So I grab a smoke bomb and wave it around.

The effect looks dramatic.

One of the grips follows my lead, but as luck would have it, her smoke bomb explodes in her hand, causing a very nasty burn, and setting part of the hill on fire.

She dances around cursing in pain while everyone else tries to put out fire number two.

The 2nd AD (who happens to be her boyfriend) flies up the hill on a four-wheeler like a wild man, and they race off to the production house, and then to the hospital.

It’s a pretty bad burn, and I feel responsible, because I’m the asshole that picked up a smoke bomb to wave around in the first place.

Still, we get through the rest of the day without any more major mishaps, and later on get a call from the 2nd AD. Liz (the grip) is going to be OK, but she’s gonna have a nice scar to remember me by.


Despite everything, we have survived February, and now are nearing the end of principal photography. If we can survive the next few weekends, It’ll be broken-field running all the way in for a touchdown.


So then why do I have this sinking feeling in my gut?


MARCH 4 2006
Day 20
Effingham, IL

I get up at  four AM to meet up at the 1st AD and Production Designer’s house.

Juan, the grip (and now FX guy, as the old one wasn’t quite up to speed) will ride out with me.

The 1st AD drives the others, and takes off like a crazy woman. We quickly lose sight of her on the highway.

I have a rough grasp of how to get to the place. Actually, we’re meeting up at the hotel where cast and crew will be staying in Effingham, not at the actual location.

My car, a 1997 saturn, is making ominous noises and is vibrating like a mexican jumping bean.

As a preventive maintenance measure, I turn up the radio to drown out the worrisome sounds.

Somehow or another, everyone makes it to the hotel.

On a down note, the Production Designer can’t make it this weekend; he had to work.

When we get out to Jeff Cornell’s place, the Germans are keyed up and ready to rock!

We shoot a lot of stuff. Stuff with vehicles, fire-fight stuff, squib and blood FX, you name it. It’s a hell of a good day.

That night, we head to our hotel, then cast and crew together hit a steak house for a fabulous dinner. It’s a real bonding moment for everybody, and for me, one of the highlights of the entire production.


MARCH 5 2006
Day 21
Effingham, IL

Woke up this morning to rain, pouring ass rain. Then hail. Snow-white, wrath of God looking hail.

Like someone emptied out a giant salt shaker over everything.

I literally stand outside and shake my fists at the heavens.

No way in hell will any of this shit match what we did yesterday. We’re doomed.

With absolutely nothing to lose, we drive out to Jeff Cornell’s place. It rains the whole way. At least the rain dissolves the hail.

When we get there, the germans aren’t the least bit discouraged by the weather.

“Shit, we like it like this,” one of them explains.

Fuck it, I figure.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and some of this shit will match. I mean, we ARE already out here.

Besides, it’s March. Spring is just around the corner; we cannot afford to reschedule, since we still have to shoot the rest of the Big Battle.

So, we march out to the set, and get ready to shoot… and it stops raining.

I swear to God, it stops raining. The sun comes out, birds sing. I weep with joy.

We accomplish everything that we set out to do, and more.

It’s a long, long day, but I leave there feeling happy and very proud of my team.

There IS a light at the end of the tunnel.


MARCH 8 2006
Day 22
St. Louis, MO

This is our first interior scene, shot in the basement of the space used by the Tin Ceiling Theatre Company. A number of cast and crew are members of Tin Ceiling, and 88mm has close ties with them.

The scene is a farmhouse basement, for which the Production Designer whips up a kick-ass set.

This is a Wednesday. We’ll be shooting every night this week, and then rolling straight into the second half of the battle. It’s going to be brutal.

We wrap up late.

MARCH 9 2006
Day 23
St. Louis, MO

More basement stuff. It’s another long night, but no major snags. The basement has a partially gravel floor, and breathing in the dust gives me a headache.

That’s about the worst of it.


MARCH 10 2006
Day 24
St. Louis, MO

This night, we’re upstairs. We have our tent set up in here, as we’re doing tent scenes. It’s a nifty trick, making that work. Once again, everything goes well.

I’m beginning to think that we should have shot the entire movie inside.


MARCH 11 2006
Day 25
St. Clair, MO

Big Battle, day three. Once again it has rained. Once again, we must bail out the set. The mortar pit has turned into a three-foot deep lake.

Once again, it stops raining so we can shoot. Somebody up there must like me.

Today, we’re doing the right side of the hill. Lots of explosions. We also have a lot of Germans. Come to think of it, we have quite a few Americans, too.

We have the German heavy weapons people, along with the Gun wrangler from waaaaay back on day 3, with American weapons . It’s one of the biggest days of the shoot.

Things go well for most of the day, all things considered. We set off lots of explosions.

The last that we do for the day has me behind the German PAK 36 anti-tank gun.

I’m stationed back here so that I can signal to the pryro guy when to fire off his explosion so that it can be timed up with the German’s firing off their big gun.

To fill out the assaulting Americans, I throw our main cast out into the field.

As a safety measure, I lay down a big stick.

“Don’t go past this big stick,” I warn them.

We start rolling.

There are ten or so explosions in this particular shot, and I plan on going through them all, feeling confident in my saftey-stick.

BOOM! Here come the actors.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

I’m still calling for explosions, and they’re still coming.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Surely they wouldn’t go past the stick?

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The actors hit the deck; they were right on top of the explosions.

The actors get up pissed.

The next couple of minutes are full of pointing and yelling.

Eventually, I walk off the set.

I sit in the woods for a long time, feeling down.

It’s the lowest point of the entire production for me.

I feel like an asshole.

I finally return to the set, and help the crew finish packing up.

They try to cheer me up, but I still feel like an ass.

Only three of us spend the night in the house tonight. We go into town and buy some towels to make use of the shower, and to eat at Subway.

It starts to rain, and continues long into the night.

We go back to the house and shower, then sit up for a few hours cleaning rifles and bullshitting.

Later on, as I lay on my lumpy bed, I listen to the rain come down and wonder if we’ll be able to shoot tomorrow.


MARCH 12 2006
Day 26
St. Clair, MO

Big Battle, day four. The rain stops sometime before the sun comes up, and. as usual, we have to bail out the set.

I’m on set when the actors arrive, and we hug and make up.

How touching.

Anyway, today turns out to be spectacular.

We shoot a lot of muddy trench assault stuff, heavy machine gun stuff, stuff with the Grease gun, it’s a banner day.

Lunch consists of hot dogs cooked in a mudhole, and some potato salad that you couldn’t pay me to eat…. but that’s the worst thing that happens all day.

When we wrap for the day, I make the announcement that this is the end of principal photography. Everybody cheers. We have five more days of pickups/re-shoots, then we’re done!

I stay on the hill until long after dark, feeling like i’ve just gone through a meat grinder…. but at the end of the day, I feel good.


MARCH 26 2006
Day 27
St. Clair, MO

The DP and I were both in agreement that the Big Battle scene ended somewhat abruptly, so today we shoot a suitable ending.

We also shoot a death scene (in which none of the squib FX work out) and a few other bits and pieces. Since we are light on extras, I end up playing a dead American AND a dead German.

And thus ends March. The long trek is nearly over.


APRIL 2 2006
Day 28
St. Clair, MO

I have decided to re-shoot the end of the movie. I really don’t like what we did before, so here we are.

Well, we were coming out to do one quick scene anyway, but I decided that we should go all out, get some vehicles and extras, and rent the Jib again.

Everything works out except for the extras (again)

This time, we have TWO extras, along with myself, the PD, DP, and the 2nd AD.

Still, we get our new end scene, and I’m happy with it.

All the while were shooting this, dark, ominous clouds are forming on the horizon.

As we set up for our quick scene, it becomes very apparent that a bad storm is going to hit us.

Still, we get one take, and all is OK

The wind starts whipping up, strong enough to vibrate the tent ropes like  guitar strings

We get a second take, complete with huge thunderclouds (with lightning in them) roiling in the background.

As soon as I yell cut, the gates of hell open up on our ass.

Half of us head for the Pinzgauer, the other half head for the tent.

The wind is threatening to rip the tent free of it’s lines, while the rain is coming down in what looks like a solid mass.

I’ve never been outside in anything like this.

The side of the tent are caving in, and the poles, one, by one, are starting to give.

Water is running through the tent now, and then hail starts pounding down.

This shit is getting pretty grim.

I can only assume that the people in the Pinz haven’t been washed away or crushed by a falling tree limb…

After around twenty minutes, the storm breaks and we all stagger outside, looking a little hollow-eyed.

We head up to the production house to find the Cinematographer’s back window has been busted out by a tree branch. Other than that, we got off scott-free.

What a way to end the day!


APRIL 21 2006
Day 29
Desoto, MO

This is the re-shoot for our night scene from day (night?) three.

This time, we’re only using two actors. Apart from the general pain in the ass of  needing a generator, everything goes quick and smooth.


APRIL 22 2006
Day 30
Desoto, MO

Yet another re-shoot, this time the blood FX from day nine. Instead of merely the head wounds, we have a medley of head, chest, and guts. It’s also one hell of a scorcher

Quite a difference from the freezing cold temperatures that we’re used to while working on the movie.

In any event, we get through the day quickly and painlessly.



APRIL 23 2006
Day 31
St. Louis, MO

This is it. The LAST day of shooting. We’re doing another FX scene and we’re re-shooting the scene from the storm day.

We’re once again in the Tin Ceiling basement.

It’s a little bittersweet, this last day. But still an ass-kicker.

The FX scene takes quite a while to get right, and is a pretty grueling, emotionally draining scene.

That’s the reason I saved it for the end.

When we finally wrap it up, we head over to our second location, the backyard of this little gallery.

The tent has been set up (well, draped over a fence) and we knock out the very last shot.

Champagne flows, and everybody is happy, happy, happy.

I feel on top of the world, because we’ve finally reached the end of it all.


But you know, there’s still a little nagging voice in the back of my head…


It ain’t over yet.