The interesting thing about today’s shoot wasn’t so much the shoot itself, but collateral damage stories behind it. So for now I’ll just say that we shot all the exteriors and finished up at Casa Billy.
We were at the apartment in Poble Nou so Anna and Marcus could get into make-up. Iván Bertrán was once again on board and we had a full make-up department. Catalina was our newest addition to the cast, and she has some delicious dialogue full of memorable one-liners.
It’s Sunday and it’s starting to get hot. People have suddenly realized that Barcelona
Today was just not our day. Anna once again left Poble Nou dressed up like a bad floral arrangement had thrown up on her. But she was working that tired dress, heels, jewels and newly reconstructed face for all they were worth. Just then something catches her eye and asks “Is that my bike? Son of a b!@*h, it is my bike!” Before we knew it, heels and jewelry were flying every which way, as Anna chased down the would-be thief, and starts to pummel him once she catches up to him. We weren’t all exactly sure what was going on but we started chasing right after her, in part because it seemed like the thing to do, and also because we wanted to know what the hell was going on.
Iván got there first and bear hugged the man, squeezing his wrists as hard as he could and then, as if tapping primal rage, let out a roaring “arrrrghhh” right in the man’s ear. When we all go there, we were able to stop Anna from giving this man a total face reconstruction without any of the make-up department’s help, and instead just exchanged some non too pleasant words with the man.
Giuseppe astutely pointed out that the neighborhood wasn’t what it used to be. He recalled that just this week he’d stepped out of his apartment and looked up and down the street wondering where his motorcycle had gone.
Once the adrenaline had worn off, all that was left was to laugh our collective asses off. I mean, where the hell did Iván get all strength, and what the hell was that scream of his? “Gluten free diet my ass” Babeth said. “I’m guessing that boy’s been getting some protein in his diet.”
As we all laughed, Marcus watched from his V.I.P box on the balcony.
When the fun was over we once again set to the task at hand, and started rolling. Well, us and everyone else. Nearby neighbors took the time to water down their front porch, yell clear across the street that someone was shooting a movie just across the way and that maybe they should try and be extras. Yeah, there’s a thought. They were very nice, even stopping us to tell us how much they loved having us shoot on their block. Just a joy, I tell you. And, of course, just when you think nothing else can go wrong… it does. That Murphy and his damn law. Anna had no sooner uttered the words “All we need is for a damn marathon to come running through here” than low and behold: Bam! We had one. A stream of cyclists descended upon us at that very moment and we had to stop rolling for a good while. When they all cleared out, and we set up again thinking nothing else could go wrong a helicopter was nice enough to hover over us as Josep delivered his lines. Testing the fates yet again as he left, Josep turned to the sky and yelled “ is there anything else?” – and without missing a beat, and as if saying “Why, yes. Yes, there is”, the church bells started ringing, signaling the end of mass. Giorgio noted that the priest must’ve known we were shooting a gay show in the neighborhood and…well, the statement continued, but I’d rather not repeat it here.
Once the odyssey of Poble Nou was over, we headed over to Casa Billy. Anna needed to have her make-up reapplied, and we joked about whether or not she wanted her son to join the Legion of Christ. We had a little fun with the blonde wig Josep had to wear, and when Iván tried it on and looked at himself in the mirror, he turned to Anna and declared “Dear God, I’m Jesus Christ himself. Anna, come to your savior.”
The actors also liked to have a little fun at their own expense. Like this conversation between Josep and Iván, after Josep has his make-up applied.
“Damn, I’m handsome” he says, as we all eye him up and down.
“Yeah, whatever.” Iván replies. “We’ll just leave this for the making of video and title it ‘I don’t have a grandmother.’ “
“But I really don’t have a grand mother” Josep says.
“Oh, no.” I say, never missing an opportunity to chime in.
We got through all the dialogue, making sure we covered all the…say it with me now…angles and reverse angles. We even got Giorgio to climb up later for a sort of panning crane shot. We also watched Giuseppe step in to a scene and tweak it with Josep, and got into it so much that at one point he started cheering Josep on with “Oh, yes, that’s right. Yes, Yes, Bravo, big boy…more. I love it.” He was so enthusiastic in fact, that Babeth came back into the room to find out what exactly was going on. And really, you have to admit that for a crew filming a gay series full of gay actors and crewmembers, she shouldn’t have been surprised if she’d found something. We’d really showed some self-restraint up to that point.Cenzo Álvarez De Haro - Translated and adapted by: Norman Giovanni Zelaya