Love Sick - a Tudor Giurgiu movie

I'm back

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 08:32:10 +0300

I’m back after a break. Not that i have been lazy, but there have been tough days and i didn’t feel like writing. We finished all the frames from kiki’s apartment (Maria), including the famous lunch scene about which i have written before. Razvan Radulescu has been on the set also and was very curious about how the scene turned out. I gather he got this idea while working on the script wth cecilia. This is how i found out that he wrote to Didi Danquart a 14 page lunch scene for OFFSET. No comment  I hope that Munteanu will get the same treatment at his film about the Revolution, at least about 15-16 pages... The settings from Maria’s room look very cool, i was quite scared of this moment. The favourite properties from the interior: a Suzana Dan painting (wedding gift), Adriana Grand’s drawings, the robot built by Adriana, and the buttons box (same) + the cherry on top: the page cut from THE FACE, where two drunk cartoon characters took the face of Chrila and Maria. Fane, our very talented property man, cut their faces from some pictures and put the instead of the original heads. It look supercool. In the last day we shoot with a little, balc, cat, that was just great. A kitten that became the star of the set. In that moment, accidentaly, i made an instant pawl to a cool line from the film where Maria tell Ioana „cats come back always alone”. Noir film title... we also shoot at the Law hostel, everyting once again OK, except for the depresive look of the hostelk, sometimes i think that 15 years have passed in vain.

{-_-}

Mon, 03 Oct 2005 20:03:43 +0300

Alora,
Today we shoot. Sunday. I’m slightly confused. I fell like it is the beginning of the week.
We reshoot the scenes with the sunset... drank again beer on the roof top and talked on the terrace.
During the day we did the scenes from the shop wearing bathing suit and i was more stressed than when i had no clothes on. Mh... chirila is talking very loud. Verrryyy loud.
:)
A few nights ago, i was going home from the shootings later than usual, when i saw a stage where only the music was missing but as far as the image was concerned, it was exactly what was needed.
In front of the nike shop from the romana square, two hookers. One is sitting on the stairs that lead to the shop. She wears a short skirt with her elboes resting on her spreaded legs. She has a lavender top and is looking at her friend from one side. Around 27-30 both of them. The secound girl wears jeans that are on the verge of breaking, white top, dark coloured hair and wrongly curled. She has her hands on a pillar of a traffic sign and does an imprecise pole danc, extremly sexy, stareing at the bykers that were in front of McDonald’s. The light is excelent, the flow of energy cruel.

K_-]^^

Fri, 09 Sep 2005 06:11:44 +0300

we did overtime again. Today a long day.
Same as yesterday.
Tomorrow we finish the shooting from the house. It follows the dorms, shoni and pietrositza...
Tomorrow, normaly, i would have been free so i schedueled spoilings and goodies, but before getting home i found out that we still had to shoot, we had a set back, so tomorrow i will go back at the same place and hour.
Yesterday we finished the monster frame from the delicious lunch that remains in the hors d’oeuvres status. Monster because it was the first scene where i felt that it got to me more what happened in the background of the shooting than whan happend after „action”. Very hard. Three days at the same table, with the same people, wearing the same clothes and the same stuffed pepper on the set. I still got so much to learn. Being patience would be one of them. I’m hurried, i get easily nervous when the others are no in the same rhythm as i am and this is not right. Then, yesterday night i had to shoot tendernesses with my brother.pam pam. Early today again tendernesses, again with my brother. This isn’t the easiest thing either. But, surprisingly, i was relaxed, more relaxed than in the other films when it came to foreplays, sexual acts and afterplays. Last night i laughed together with alex and tudor about the story from love actually, with the light doubles that work in a porno film, and although they were in explicite situations and positions, they wore in themselvs a melodious and charming grace. It hasn’t much to do with my story but it was a first not to comsume myself so hard and useless.

About frames where people stay at the table and eat.

Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:04:46 +0300

These are hard to shoot. Many angles, connections between characters, the worry not to „jump over the axle”. In the frst day i always was tempted to cut the frame intro pieces, but i chilled in time, it would have been nonsense.
You have an appetite! Mine is meat balls and stuffed pepper with cheese paste. The meat balls don’t count.
They are boring. The cast forget the coupling, u have to shoot somehow continuously.
If you have a cast made out of actors of different genres and age (my case) you have to get in the role seriously and lead them where you want to. Or else, you are in trouble. Some wait for the close up, others joke and you can hear them through the four-in-hand tie, some are absent, some want to seem funny and others hate those who want to be funny. The food rots out like today’s tomato of miss Tora. You have to keep yours eyes focused, like on the gas cylinder, for the pressed cheese and many more not to „loosen up”. All in all it was a thrilling day. Maybe only for me, popistasu was fed up. I could see her through the half-opened door and i was trying to encourage her through signs.

....//Y

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 21:55:04 +0300

I’m sleepy. I still have to finish choosing some pictures for „my room”. Pictures with kiki as a child. Borrowed from little maria.
Today was a day that seemed not to end. Indeed i wished it would end. Endddd... at one moment all around me people were asking what the time was. I think it has been a dull day for many. Ioana was very bored, way beyond, miss tora was playing in the mustard bowl and was throwing bread at the crew. Mister vali was going out for a smoke and was wiping his nape, chirila couldn’t stop from making jokes and even alex (sterian, i told u, the d.o.p) „froze” in jokes by the end of the day. Nea pompi stranded still on a 30 cube. Tomorrow would be the third day we shoot the frame with the meal at the parvulescu’s house. And the last one. We’re left 2 pages out of 9.

(-_-)

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 23:47:09 +0300

Still Monday 23.33
Today passed in a strange way. It seemed a short day… at seven I felt like it was three. Still hard…as soon as we are more than three actors I loose my temper. I realize we are difficult and tough to stand and I hope that when I get older and I’ll have some kids of my own or at least very close friends that would have the guts to tell me I ran off the rails. That could be sad. Not to say tiring.
Today we shot the “home” meal. I don’t feel connected with that space and I realize there are so many different opinions about my character…everyone sees kiki in a different way and I don’t have other alternative than to melt all these images if I don’t want to wake up in a fake character. Sometimes I sometimes get the feeling that nobody agreed as far as I’m concerned.

It’s Sunday. It’s break time

Sun, 04 Sep 2005 15:05:31 +0300

Finally, Sunday has come and along with it, the beak. The last few days have been a little bit stressing, we had to shoot the most important scenes from the end. Ioana and Maria have been admirable although it wasn’t easy to keep the same emotion throughout 12 hours and then re-capture it in “n” doubles. I hope everything will look the way I want it to and I don’t have to re-shoot it. Yesterday we filmed at my place, on the roof of the block. Shooting combined, at the end with grill, grilled minced meat balls and palinca from Cluj. There were clouds and all of the sunset romance that I hoped for (maybe naive) went down the drain. But we had lots of crows that we took advantage of, in return. We left after 10 days from the suit in Magheru with nice memories. I think we did a good job and gained confidence in what we are doing. I watched together with Alex (the operator) the material from the last few day of shooting and everything seems okay. I’m starting to think we do have very special moments and very good frames. Now the problem is that all these have to connect in a whole and not to be just OK moments.

(-_0)#

Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:36:27 +0300

It’s Saturday morning. I woke up, out of habit at 6.30 am although today we start at 10. not because it’s Saturday but yesterday we stayed after hours.
While I was brushing my teeth I found out that my eyes were swollen. And that wasn’t all. One is more swollen than the other. They aren’t both on Saturday. I look like I was beaten. Now I’m trying to fix them with stuff like “formula as advises the readers”.
Chamomile compresses boiled and then cooled.
Yesterday was the breaking up scene. A little to melodramatic for popistasu. Hard. With the tear in the eye or throat, we were trying to keep the same intensity and intonation of the voice… toward the evening I was under the impression that I couldn’t see anything because of swollen eyelids and my head was aching: “come on, another one, now quickly”

}± .. ±{

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 21:21:17 +0300

But of course I’m tired. Early hour but in my new time perception quite late. 21.15 is that hour when I prepare for tomorrow. Lot of text to assimilate. State to understand. Emotion to accumulate.
My brother will get married on the 12th. My real brother and not chirila that got a haircut in Mrs. Benes’ bathroom and was not quite satisfied with the t-shirts. Ioana, who is beautiful, has talent and is very concentrated reminds me of anamaria, who as well at her first film was focused and amazing. Today giurgiu kept a hold on everything in a sharp-fainting onion smell. I was taking emetiral and losec. Alex who is lucid and calm, pompi who was funny and less tall, miruna is an ironic fairy with perfumed hands, oana is reliable and fair, gelu and laurentiu, the sound couple and the whole gang, the spoilt eliza and Elena who owes me a fresh bottle of wine

The robot and the flies

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 23:32:03 +0300

Today we shoot some tough scenes. Maria’s monolog with her Nokia phone where she was telling “things” to her brother and then the discussion from the kitchen between Ioana and Mrs.Murgea. For the first scene Maria held it together and was off the rails just enough, like the character is demanding. She was talking to Chirila’s robot as if she had loved him her entire life. I’m very curious how this will look on the big screen. This could be one of those 3 great scenes from the entire movie. In the kitchen, we shot about 10 takes until the reel finished. In the script there was the scene with a lot of text and Mrs. Murgea didn’t act it out as she should have almost in all takes. Slight mistakes, not big ones, but those were felt. At the end, I was satisfied with take no.7, but even now the thought that the flies aren’t seen in the setting crosses my head. I asked for flies, but lots of them and I got a jar with 20 dizzy flies. 2 died (I will write this at the end, on the generic). I am paranoid enough to think that this scene didn’t turn out as it should because of the lack of flies, but this is how things stand, I can’t do anything. At the Pintilie films all would have gone home till the production and scenography found flies. I am a humble debutante and I will e happy if I see at least one fly in the scene. And if not, I’ll comfort myself with the thought that the scene could have been better.

Brain Storm

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 22:25:32 +0300

First days … I don’t know what’s happening with me. Lights are set, scenes are shot, we rehearse the script, take your position and … ACTION!!!! )))_:((((STOP mr.diaconu is slightly pushing me towards the light…I hadn’t been in a good light. Oh my God, I am playing with Mircea Diaconu. I have some elfin that always arrange the locks or pouder the nose a little bit. Tudor is very calm, has a lot of patience and doesn’t give up until he gets what he wants. I’m under the impression that I don’t embrace the whole picture. I don’t know if that’s okay, what am I doing, talking with the top of my lips, why? Maybe it’s just sensation. Hello Gelu. Can u hear me? 1,2 testing the microphone. Maria and her crazy outfits…

Hot weather

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 01:00:54 +0300

Because today was very hot but we were “In bed with Maria”. Last night I had an idea to shoot a scene between the two girls with the camera placed under the bed sheet than over it. I wasn’t necessarily original, others have done it before but I know it was a good idea. I laughed seeing Alex and Pompilica ( the camera mechanic) trying to find good spots in maria’s “nest”. And still it wasn’t enough, there wasn’t enough space, at one moment I felt like chipping away the wall for them to have more room. It’s said that Pinitilie did in the apartment where he filmed Niki Ardelean.

(>_<)

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 21:19:02 +0300

day six, if I am not wrong.
Yesterday I was a little annoyed by the comments from the blog. Today I got home after having drunk half a beer for Alex Sterian (our d.o.p), so I regained the courage to start posting again. I had a good day, tudor said. I had a good day, I would say also. I would have loved it if we hadn’t dropped back (I think radu felt the same), but on the other hand it’s a good thing we didn’t do overtime today. I was, I think, slightly disfigured because of the heat. Sweating in the same room leads to connections far more important than communication. At least 5 people sweating in a synchronized way in a few square meters is a unique, unforgettable experience 

Its okay

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 21:38:08 +0300

I do have a good feeling. I’ve seen the material from the first 2 days, I have also edited some frames at Multimedia, there are no problems. Everything is okay. Today I have slept a lot and as a bonus I took a walk in the Herastrau Park with our godfather and godmother and their children. They fascinated me, Matei, as well as Maria. I think I would be a great director for children films. A kind of Zizi Bostan reloaded. Maybe when I am old! Saturday we shot the first part of the “earrings” scene. I discovered some of Alex’s toys on the bed and I think I’ll still use them as the film continues. A teddy bear and a flopping rabbit. If we add the flies, the cow from pietrosita, Cecilia’s cat and other animals for the setting, it’s going to be a more “beastly” film.

...{-_- }*

Sun, 28 Aug 2005 05:04:49 +0300

4our and 4ourty

sunday morning.

I had a long day and not an easy one. Today I went through a difficult moment, I had the feeling that I am that kind of an actor that I normally judge. The kind that waists film and patience. It wasn’t a big deal, a detail, a short scene, but I was under the impression that my lack of concentration concerning my own womanhood determined a kind of emotional block that prevented me to react as tudor wanted. I only wanted it to be finished. At the end everything turned out as he wanted, I hope. Or maybe the change of the reels got him frightened. And me at the same time… at a certain moment I had an inhibition. Guilt and frustration.