Arrow Diary: Old #7

Last Updated on July 26, 2021

In February
of 2009, I got my sorry ass to Barcelona, Spain for about a month. Why? See the
world (had never really been to Barcelona, well not long enough), see my friends (Hostench ya fuck! I love
you man!), and try to provoke life and business. One of the things I wound up
doing there outside of being a tourist, drinking, getting in a fist fight over
my groceries and hanging with peeps was to shoot a short film. Didn’t see that one
coming! I guess it was meant be.

When I
hooked up with filmmaker Gonzalo Lopez (who
directed the brilliant
EMBRION), our creative juices got flowing, so
with the help of a Jack Daniels bottle and an Iron Maiden CD we started writing
and came up with OLD NUMBER 7; a short
(which is slated to premiere at this years Sitges Film
Festival) about a man named Roy, who arrives in Barcelona to seek out
his ex-wife. Why? Cause she left him, aborted his baby and started
nailing his brother that’s why. Now I know it sounds like an episode of the O.C.
but trust me, it is a horror film, think a giallo/film noir with supernatural
undertones.

In between takes with Claudia Costas…

We agreed
off the bat that Gonz would direct the film (which I was excited about being
that I loved his eye in EMBRION) and that I would act (I play Roy) and co
produce it. So after Gonz and I locked the screenplay we started pre prod on the
picture. Quickest pre-prod ever by the way! Pure guerilla! Man did we hustle! Gonz got his old crew from EMBRION to cover the technical aspects, including ace
DOP and steady cam operator Javier Rueda and
then we went out to scout locations, buy the props/costumes etc. Next thing you
know we were making a movie! But much like most low budget productions; obstacles
kept popping up throughout.

Getting our
lead actress for starters was quite the bitch, especially since the time frame
we had to play with and offer the gals was so short. I can’t count how many
dames we booked for auditions that just didn’t show up. No calls to say they’re
cancelling – no hand jobs – they just didn’t show up. WTF is wrong with people?
You think you’re gonna make it in the film industry with that kind of attitude?
Sheesh! Luckily we finally got our girl in actress
Saida Lamas; who brought talent and courage to the role. For example,
Saidas and I had a love scene to do in the film, we hardly knew each other which
always makes it weirder, but Saidas didn’t pull a prima donna routine
hence making the scene easy to shoot for all of us. I respected that, usually love scenes
+ low budget + actresses = DRAMA!

Saida Lamas as Mariona…

The film
also had a first for me as an actor (latter term used loosely). I was the only
English speaking dude in the piece and everybody else spoke Spanish. That
resulted in an interesting artsy move within the film; the whole time I speak
English to the other characters and they respond to me in Spanish. After seeing
the rushes, I’m happy to say that it came out totally organic.
Being that I knew the lines, what they meant and their beats, even in Spanish,
made it possible for me to react to what was being said in a natural fashion.
NOTE: I am now learning Spanish; I love the language and its
people.

The
highlights of the shoot for me were many; acting with actor
Sergio Bernal, whom I loved in EMBRION
was a lot of fun. We had a good chemistry together off camera so it helped in
terms of our scenes together. I can’t wait to know Spanish more so I can have a
solid conversation with the lad that goes beyond hand movements and drawings…lol!
The flick was location heavy as well so I got to see parts of Spain that I
wouldn’t have seen otherwise. Moreover watching Gonzalo and Javier at
work, two dudes who are perfectionist as to what they want and how they’re going
to get it was a pleasure. Sure, sometimes it resulted in LONG WAITS on set; but
it was for a greater good, hence worth it.

Director Gonzalo Lopez and I discussing a scene…

Any low
points? A couple. We had long hours (which was fine) but I also had insomnia
during the shoot (which was not fine). I kept having nightmares of some killer
midget (we called him The Nano) out to get me, so the more we clocked forward
the more tired I was cause I couldn’t f*cking get any rest. The sound and makeup
problems we had frustrated me too, but I let my negative energy go on that for the
better of the shoot. We had to play the hand we had. My main peeve though had to do with our special effects dude Marc Zorrilla who showed up on set with a blood gag that didn’t work (he didn’t
test it at his shop beforehand…never helps), hence wasting the cast, crew and
location (we we’re shooting in a Pub) owners time.

I
quickly had a gut feeling about that dude as to his reliability and what he
could pull off so at the end of the day Gonzalo and I came up with a Plan B in
terms of the scenes left to shoot that required special effects. We wrote them
in a way where effects wouldn’t be needed – just in case. Good move on our part
because even though Marc committed to be our effects man, he didn’t
show up on set the next day and ducked our calls. Yeah I was really impressed. Dude, all you had to do
is call us and let us know you wanted out…it’s called professionalism man! It’s
under “P”…look it up.
Incredible…As I write
this, my scenes are
now wrapped and I am back at home living off Montreal, Canadians hockey, but Gonzalo still has two key scenes to shoot on
his end. Kick that ass bro like I know you can! Actually, Gonzalo has been
sending me rough cuts of the bits we did and I am very happy with what I’m
seeing so far. Stylish, Argento-esque and unique its genre bending ways.

Sergio Bernal as Roy’s brother Gonzalo…

I would like
to take this moment to thank some folks. Big thanks to our work horse
Production manager Salva Solano who busted
his ass without a single complaint. Saida Lamas
for her professionalism and endearing personality.
Claudia Costas for showing up on time and doing a fine job. DOP, co
producer and Steadycam operator Javier Rueda
for bringing his A game to our little film. Casting director
Ignacio F. Rodó for working hard off the bat and never giving up.
Sergio Bernal for his focus, the good laughs
and that groovy hat he gave me. And finally big thanks to
Sara Hostench for helping out as to getting our
sets in shape and Mike Hostench for the
support and that fine bottle of champagne he brought on my last day of shooting.
It definitely cut the edge man! Thanks bro!

I’ll end
with this: making a
film, short or long is a tough thing to do and it should always be a team effort. If
you have a good team (on top of a strong script), you usually wind up with a
good film. Although some of the circumstances weren’t ideal and bullshit kept
slapping us in the face we all kept on trucking, fighting to get the film done
and at the end of it all we f*cking pulled it off. That, in my opinion is the foundation of filmmaking. Think
beyond yourself and
give it all the fight you’ve got. PROPS TO ALL!

From left to right: Salva Solano, an ass, Saidas Lama,
Sergio Bernal and Javier Rueda.

OLD NUMBER 7 – STILL IN PRODUCTION