Random Business

I just wanted to spend a few minutes taking care of some random business.

First of all, a big shout-out to Ben Hershleder, a fantastic filmmaker and good friend who was kind enough to design the AIR I BREATHE website and set up our blog accounts. This site would NOT be happening if it weren’t for him.

Let’s show our thanks by checking out Ben’s personal website, www.hershleder.com. You’ll find a link for Ben’s latest hilarious short film and plenty of other stuff. Thanks, Ben!

Next, another big shout-out to smgfan.com, currently celebrating their 10th anniversary. Joan and everyone at the site have been deeply supportive of our film and the blogs, and we can’t thank them enough. Go check out the site if you haven’t already and make sure to read Sarah Michelle Gellar’s thank-you letter. She speaks very fondly of her experience making THE AIR I BREATHE, and says incredibly sweet things about Jieho and I, as well as her co-stars.

Are their other fan sites we should be aware of? I know emilehirsch.net is keeping tabs on our film, and they will be happy to know that Emile’s performance in AIR is simply amazing. He’s playing Tony, the nephew of Andy Garcia’s character Fingers, and wait’ll you see what happens. It may sound like hype, but I firmly believe that Emile is the finest young actor working today.

If there are any other sites we should be keeping an eye on, drop us a comment and we’ll take a look.

I had flirted with the idea of taking an entire blog to answer reader questions, but honestly, I keep getting the same two questions:

1) What color is Sarah’s hair? The answer is, it’s a brand new color and I like to call it…GORGEOUS.

2) Does Sarah sing in the movie? This one surprises me, because Sarah is indeed playing a pop star, so why isn’t anyone asking the more pertinent question: Does Sarah DANCE in the movie? And I wish I could answer, but…oh what the heck. Spoiler-time! Sarah dances, and man, does she ROCK.

There have been other questions, one’s I can’t really answer, so here is the stock answer: “Sorry, but I can’t give out the phone number (or shooting schedule or hotel location) of Kevin Bacon (or Brendan Fraser or Andy Garcia or Emile Hirsch or Forest Whitaker).” It’s good to know that the guys in our cast are beloved, but we’ll have to leave it at that.

And that takes care of our random business. Next time, we’ll have a little chat…about sad partings. Yes, Andy Garcia and Forest Whitaker are wrapped, and I’ll look forward to telling you about their amazing final days.

See you then!

Moments of Love

Week four flew by. It was an amazing, intense week. So many incredible moments…

I noticed Kevin Bacon (playing Love, a love-struck doctor) relaxing before a take, shuffling his feet into a little dance move. When I told a couple of young ladies from the crew about it, I could visibly see their hearts break that they’d missed it…

I sat very quietly in the corner of a small room as Jieho rehearsed a scene between Andy Garcia and Sarah Michelle Gellar. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the movie and it’s so intense, so quiet, that while Andy and Sarah worked on the scene, I just looked to the floor, as if not looking would somehow give them privacy.

I watched a scene on a monitor as a character was raced along on a hospital gurney, his face in close-up the length of the shot, which spanned two hallways. It wasn’t until I wandered out to the hallway that I realized that our DP Walt was getting the shot hand-held with a very heavy camera while running BACKWARDS the entire way. The man is amazing…

I saw Brendan Fraser in a scene so raw, so physically demanding, that I was actually concerned for him. Then I found out later that he had a GREAT time shooting the scene, and I remembered why I love actors so much.

Darlene, one of our producers, invited me to dinner with her, Brendan, Sarah, Andy, and Victor Rivers (in town to play Eddie, Andy’s bodyguard) and for dessert, we were presented with a two-foot tall chocolate monkey. I repeat…two-foot tall chocolate monkey.

I watched one of my best friends, Josh Flaum, shoot his feature film debut, one scene with Kevin, one with Julie Delpy (so breathtaking on camera, you won't believe it). Josh held his own among these superstars. You have no idea how proud I am of my friend.

The week ended with Kevin Bacon shooting his last scene. As soon as we finished, the crew burst into applause. They lined up to wish Kevin well or pose for a quick picture. Kevin smiled graciously, taking a moment with every single person there. Then, he slid on his sunglasses and strolled off the set for the last time.

Love is gone. We miss him already.