Razor Days Production- Part 2

Monday April 25^th- CAVE DAY, continued-

I think Mother Nature thought it would be funny to give us nice weather when we were going to be inside caves all day. After all of the rain the cave day was sunny and warm, of course. But we were determined to have a good shooting day. It was going to be tough but we were ready.

We were joined that day by Henrique Couto and by the end of the day I thought Bart was going to adopt him. Henrique was great both on and off set and gave a hand when he could. Even by trekking into the caves and back up a number of times. We were also joined by Phill Beith, who assisted Scott on the great effects and also made the trek a few times and gave David a great broken nose. This was one of our big cast/crew days and we had a foursome up from Alabama that included Chris Pezzano, who made the awesome knives used in the movie, Mara, who was thrown in and was an great victim, Dan, who was another great victim and worked with Bart, Alan and David on a previous project and Johnnie, who did whatever we asked and helped with feeding everyone. We also had two local women Becci and Moll who were game to help with whatever was needed including carrying large heavy objects, like the anvil, to the pits of the earth and then back up. The cavern managers rounded out the group so there were a number of us. Another long day in the 50 degree damp caves, which was uncomfortable for more than one of us, but everyone got through it and we have some beautiful footage. It was around this time I developed a nice little neck pain, but I figured it was David (sorry David, couldn't resist!)

After we wrapped we headed to a motel close by since we were shooting in Uniontown the next day. After a quick dinner/breakfast at Denny's we headed to bed.

Tuesday April 26^th- Today was a big dialogue day. We were shooting at a friend's house that was to be the house of Rena and her sister, Cara, played brilliantly by Alyssa Heron. The first scene of the day was mine and Alyssa's emotional scene and she was great. Again, a wonderful woman to work with and gave me such good stuff to work with that it made it easy for me. After a few more scenes with Alyssa, Debbie, Bette and me we were ready to move outside, so of course it started raining again. Luckily the house had a nice side porch we could move to and finish the shots. We were all pretty tired by then so after the shoot we headed back to Waynesburg for a quick dinner and headed to bed to get ready for the next day.

Wednesday April 27^th- MASSACRE DAY- Another big day. In addition to our core group we were again joined by Carolyn, her husband Mikey Haushaulter, who was there to take pictures for us, Lee Wildermuth another great effects artist that we worked with a number of times before, Paul Nandzil, his wife Marie and Vinny Russo. Paul and Vinny were there to get killed, which they did admirably. We also had Paul Hunt and Julie on set getting footage for their Grassroots Horror Documentary. We also had another 2 great effects artist and Stephanie Bartoni. Stephanie again got there early and was, of course, the last shots of the day. Everyone did such a great job that day and things went pretty smoothly. Bette again choreographed a wonderful skirmish with Stephanie, Debbie and me and Bart captured fantastic footage of it. Carolyn stayed at HQ to make a delicious lunch and overall the day went well, especially our four deaths. It was another interesting weather day but it all worked out. Bed felt so good that night.

Thursday April 28^th – DINER DAY- That day we were down to the main group but also joined by Kriscinda Meadows, who is writing a piece on Razor Days, and a couple of extras. Stephanie, Carolyn and Mikey also joined us. Shooting had a few hiccups that day but nothing that wasn't overcome and everyone did a great job with the problems that we had. I also found out that there was a problem with a location for the next day's shoot so I spent some down time calling April and Kari Bruno to help us. They were great and really came through and gave me the number of a place we could use. We'd have to rewrite or postpone the scene but we could at least get Debbie and Bette's part done. During this Alan and Debbie were shooting a scene where we had to overcome the music being played at the previous location, The Revolutionaries Cafe. Mike W figured it out and the scene went off and we were done for the night. We headed to dinner at Rockefeller's Grille in Kennedy Township and had good food and GREAT desserts! Then we headed home to get ready for the next day.

Friday April 29^th – CLEANUP DAY – this is the day where we had to get all of the scenes and shots we skipped and said, we'll get to it. There were a number of effects, costume and makeup changes so we were jumping. Alan was getting us in and out of costume and changing our looks. Thanks to Stephanie and Carolyn who were again there to out with whatever was needed. That night we also said goodbye to Scott. Since the effects were done he headed home. We sat around and talked a bit and had some laughs but I know I (and a few more) were getting a bit sad knowing that Saturday was the last day of shooting.

Saturday April 30^th – LAST DAY – Alan, Mike W and I headed to the B&B to say goodbye to Debbie, who was flying out that morning and Michael V., who was driving her to the airport and heading home. It was a sad goodbye but I knew we all made something great so I felt good. I was also nervous about the upcoming scenes I had with Jeff Monahan. There was some very emotional stuff in those scenes and it was only Jeff and me. No effects or other characters. After breakfast I started preparing while Bart and Mike W figured out with Alan the best order to shoot the scenes. Alyssa came by for the day to help out and Bette stayed around in case she was needed. Jeff got there and the scenes were shot. It was a little tough for me, but overall I was happy with the outcome and getting through it.

We decided to have one more dinner out and then we said goodbye to Jeff, Alyssa, Bette and Chris. Another sad parting but good in a way.

Sunday May 1^st – BACK TO THE WORLD – Everyone left that day. We drove Alan to the B&B for one last breakfast with Bart and David and after some hugs and thank yous and pictures the 3 of them headed home. Mike W. and I went to get new phones (I can't believe I went over a week without one, during a production no less!) and visit our much missed families. We spent the rest of the evening playing with our new phones and since it was our anniversary we got Wendy's Drive Thru- all we were up for at that point. We then spent the next few days mostly on the couch trying to get up the energy to put the house in order or get pictures up.

 

I'm sure there is much I missed in there, like Bette teaching us basic stage combat and giving everyone Syphilis, David almost literally laughing his ass off, watching movies and so much else. Maybe details are there but what I am left with is the feeling that we made what will be a great movie, everyone I mentioned and so many others are responsible for it and I am so grateful for every single person who was there, called, sent an email or Facebook message or supported us over the years. This project would not have been able to be made without all of them and I think we would have missed out on a great endeavor. This movie was a long time in the making and everyone contributed to make it better than I could have hoped for. On a personal note I again want to thank Debbie, Bette, Alyssa and Jeff for helping me reach Anita and making me feel good about her portrayal. And of course Mike W who guided us all along the way so well.

Keep a look out for Razor Days information and thanks for reading.