Today we are back at Club Challenge. Yesterday we filmed here when we were going my scenes but we were using the offices so you couldn't tell that we were in a club. But today was the day that we had about 100 extras coming to help us out to make it look like we had a packed burlesque club scene.
It was the first early morning shoot that we've had in over a week. A lot of the scenes that we have had to do previously were supposed to take place in the afternoon or at night, so in a way we've been a bit spoiled by getting to sleep in. But this morning we were on the road by 8. When I say we were on the road by eight I mean that everyone else was on the road by eight. Myself and Rob and Ticho were still waiting for our ride at the hotel. It wasn't Matt's fault this time, surprisingly, we were waiting for Maaike who was asked to pick us up. But because the Rembrandtplein Hotel was completely out of her way, she was late and in turn we were all late getting to set, again.
By the time we got there I was greeted by about 50 scantily clad ladies waiting in the lobby all dressed in burlesque. Most of them looked really good and when I was thinking about it I was surprised that people have these types of clothes just laying around the house. But I have learned to never be surprised by anything that happens in Amsterdam. But on the other hand we also had a handful of old people dressed up in burlesque. I can even put into words how wrong some of them looked and I was asking myself where we found these people but they did seem to be having a good time so who am I to judge? But one of the old ladies did ask me to help her fasten up her revealing top when I made the mistake of going to the bathroom. I obliged but it was a rather uncomfortable experience.
The club we were in was pretty cool. It was two stories, with four bars, a VIP area and cool decorations. I may have gone to party there but its hard to tell what kind of place it would be at night. We were there through the day filming so that is the only context I can imagine it in.
I thought filming went pretty smoothly today. The extras took direction well and we were able to filter in and out new extras that were coming in. Also, every time we had to shoot a new scene we would just move the extras around to make it look like it was a new group of people or a different day. Something I've realized while shooting this film is how unreal films are. When you watch films in a movie theatre, everything seems to run smoothly and it makes sense, even when you are watching movies at home. But when you are watching the filming process you wonder to yourself how exactly all of these tiny cut scenes are going to fit into the film as a whole. And when you are watching fight scenes that clearly look fake, that how do they look real in the movie. So when I have been watching shows while I've been here I've been looking at them with more scrutiny, trying to dissect how they did things. I have a feeling that is going to be a bad thing. The magic of the cinema is slowly slipping away.
Like I said the rest of the day went pretty smoothly. About two hours before wrap Amy and I decided to start cleaning up because the extras were pigs and because we had lit candelabra all over the club there was wax on practically every table. Amy and I were under the mentality that if we didn't clean it, it would never get done. Good thing we did all that cleaning because then when filming was over we were able to relax while everyone else packed up their equipment.
A whole bunch of us came back to the Rembrandtplein and were greeted by the owner of the hotel with two mini-kegs of Heineken and bottles of alcohol. It seemed rude to refuse such hospitality so we sat and drank for awhile. Beer for the men and Bailey for the ladies as the owner says. We also order these awesome burgers from a place called "Burger Bar." I didn't think you could find a really good burger in Amsterdam but it was possible. I probably got to bed by one in the morning after a night of socializing.
But all of this random sleeping is really throwing me off. That is one thing I can't wait to do. Get back to the states and just sleep consistently for a couple days. That may be one of the only things I am looking forward to in America.
Sleepy Love from Amsterdam,
-M
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